Shinji Matou at Your Service

"Please take care of my daughter and him."

Upon hearing these words, Reika suddenly understood many things.

Why had she been having such dreams? Dreams that seemed so unreal, yet so real at the same time.

Why did the protagonist in these dreams look exactly like her?

Why were there places in the dreams that she had never visited, or even heard of, yet indistinguishable from reality?

If that were the case, then everything could be explained.

Based on the information revealed in her dreams and her research, she and the other "her" should be the same person from parallel worlds. That's why they had the same appearance and similar origins, but their lives diverged because of different experiences.

However, even if all of this were true, even if a parallel world existed, and even if the other "her" had indeed contacted her, so what?

Even if she wanted to help her, she would still need more information. She didn't know the male protagonist's name, nor did she know his address. How was she supposed to help like this?

And what was this about a daughter? Wasn't she right by her side?

With these doubts clouding her mind, she woke up from the dream. The moment she opened her eyes, she froze.

Because she heard a familiar "Mom," followed by the sight of a familiar cute face smiling sweetly at her from the bedside.

How could she be here? Hadn't she said she wouldn't come?

But soon, she recalled the connection between them and the meaning of entrusting the daughter to her.

Still, there were some lingering questions she couldn't figure out.

The "dream" daughter had already gained a physical body, becoming a real human, and was now thirteen years old. But the girl standing by her bedside was much younger—certainly not thirteen, not even the ten-year-old from their first meeting. She looked no older than five. And more importantly, she wasn't a physical being but more like a phantom, an existence akin to a ghost.

Of course, the other "her" would surely have a reasonable explanation for this.

Sure enough, the little ghost girl explained.

The girl named Jack wasn't an individual but a collective consciousness that could merge or split apart. The one who had come this time was just one part of that consciousness, the part that loved her father the most.

Because this little part of Jack's consciousness carried very little information, it made the transmission process much easier. The other "her" had used Jack as a vessel to send her memories and feelings to this world, attaching them to her. Every seven days, Jack would appear.

The seven-day interval allowed time to digest the memories as well as to accumulate the energy needed for the dream—Jack was so weak that even if she attached herself to a person and absorbed life energy, no one would notice. Seven days of absorption was only enough to create a single dream.

It was hard to believe, and it sounded like nonsense, but she believed it. Not just because of Jack in front of her calling her "Mom," but also because of everything that had happened over the past year.

A year's worth of accumulation, a year's worth of effort, all to tell her story over the course of a year. All for a vague, uncertain promise. If it wasn't genuine, then what could it be?

So, without any hesitation, she accepted Jack and treated her as her daughter, just like the other "her" did—even though she wasn't even married yet.

Though it was just a dream, and though she treated it like a drama series she was following, the events in the dream still influenced her to some extent. Since the protagonist looked exactly like her, the sense of immersion was intense. She couldn't help but compare the dream to reality, realizing how blessed she was, and thus she cherished each day of her life even more. She treasured her happy family. Through her efforts, she even helped her father eliminate the hidden business risks that, in the other world, had led to the downfall of her family.

Jack was also very considerate, knowing how weak she was and that her existence couldn't be exposed to others. So, she never appeared in front of outsiders, only coming out to act spoiled in front of her Mom when they were alone.

Such a good child shouldn't be without a father. She had to find him—it was a decision she finally made.

To this end, she began her preparations.

Using the clues from the dream, she found Fuyuki City. Using the name Jack gave her, she located his house—the Matou family. The Matou family name was rare, and the family had been doing very well in recent years, so it wasn't hard to track them down.

However, she didn't rush to knock on their door. Not only was there a mismatch in their ages compared to the dream, but he also had many outstanding women around him. Compared to them, the "her" from the other world was nothing more than an ugly duckling.

She wanted to be sure of his feelings. She wanted to know if he remembered the events from the other world, if he remembered that he had a daughter.

Unfortunately, that young man was always running around and rarely stayed in Fuyuki, making it difficult to test his feelings. Then the Holy Grail War began.

Thanks to her natural intelligence and exceptional memory, even though she wasn't particularly interested in the mysteries of the Grail, she memorized its details and found them useful at that moment.

Don't misunderstand—she had no interest in the Great Grail and didn't want to be caught up in the war. She was doing all of this for her daughter.

Her heart ached for Jack, who was attached to her in such a fragile, immaterial form. No matter what happened between her and that young man, she hoped that Jack could live happily in this world, just like the other Jack.

She came up with a plan.

Summoning a Heroic Spirit through a catalyst to narrow down the results.

Was there a better catalyst than a part of Jack the Ripper herself? The answer was no.

Of course, this was just a random idea of hers. There was no solid evidence, and unexpected results could happen. But even if something went wrong, it didn't matter. With Command Seals, she could always leave Fuyuki City or simply break the contract. There was no risk, so why not try?

So, following the method from the dream, she inscribed the summoning circle and chanted the incantation.

The ritual was a success. The summoning circle activated. But as the light from the other side descended, the small phantom of Jack, who had been sitting on the altar as the relic, was suddenly sucked into the sea of light, scaring her almost to death.

Fortunately, from within the sea of light came the voice, "Mom, We're okay," which calmed her panicked heart.

When the light faded and the ritual ended, the young ghostly Jack had disappeared, replaced by a cute, cloaked girl, about ten years old, with white, messy hair.

The girl ran out of the summoning circle, hugging her tightly, rubbing her little nose against her, and calling out, "Mom."

At that moment, she knew she had succeeded.